Deepika struck four goals as India Juniors gave a glimpse of its prowess with a 6-0 victory over Sports Authority of India (SAI) ‘B’ in a group-A match of the Khelo India women’s under-21 hockey league at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Wednesday.
In another match, Anjali Panwar (5) and Simranjeet Kaur (4) powered Khalsa Academy, Amritsar, to a 15-0 victory over Mumbai Schools Sports Association.
Later in the day, Madhya Pradesh Academy did well to draw 2-2 with Pritam Siwach Academy, Sonepat, as Sadhna Sengar and Neeraj Rana scored the first and last goals of the match.
The Union Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur, inaugurated the league which will be played in three phases.
"All our athletes train very hard. It is also very important to get enough competition. Having leagues of this kind for competitive exposure through the year is crucial’’, the Sports Minister said.
He also announced that the Sports Ministry would offer 15 lakh rupees to match the 15 lakh rupees from Hockey India, for the champion team Disha and Tamanna Yadav found the target for Pritam’s team.
The president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Narinder Batra said that it was a big initiative and expressed gratitude to the government for consistent support to hockey through the last few years.
The first phase of the league, featuring 14 teams, will be played till December 21. The second and third phases will be staged next year at two other venues.
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